Physiology and Biophysics Ph.D. Program

Graduate Curriculum in Physiology and Biophysics

• Overview
• Invited speaker seminar series
• Departmental seminars and journal clubs
• Sample Curriculum
• Core Courses
• Elective Courses

Overview

During their first year students take advanced courses in membrane physiology and biophysics, cellular physiology, neurophysiology and systemic physiology, as well as a core course in cell molecular biology and interdisciplanary biomedical sciences. In their second year, Ph.D. students choose among a variety of elective courses including neuronal development and advanced molecular biology. During this time students become acquainted with the faculty members and their research, and then choose several laboratories in which to do brief, introductory research projects. After the student's selection of a faculty mentor the main emphasis of training shifts to the design and proposal of a dissertation research project, and, with its approval, laboratory research. Students report periodically on their research in discussions with other students and the faculty.

Since the Department aims to prepare its graduates for careers in research and teaching, all students in the Department are expected to participate in teaching; these teaching activities typically require no more than 1-2 weeks per year.

A detailed description of graduate student responsibilities is described in the "Seven Steps Towards Graduation" document.

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Invited Series

The Department has an active visiting speaker seminar program. Scientists of international reputation are invited to present their research findings to the Department. These visiting speakers usually spend a day participating in informal discussions, including a meeting with the graduate students. Visiting speaker programs open to students are also available through other departments.

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Departmental Seminars and Journal Clubs

Students participate in one or more of the four journal clubs including "Ion Channels", "Neuroscience and Molecular Development" and Journal Class. Students also attend departmental seminars, and present a research seminar each year. Student research seminars are based on rotation research for the first year and dissertation research in subsequent years.

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A Sample Curriculum

First Year:

Semester I (Fall)

Semester II (Spring)

Summer

Second year:

Semester III (Fall)

Semester IV (Spring)

Third year onwards:

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Core Courses

Cell Physiology and Biophysics PHS 510 (2 credits). General principles of cell physiology, chemical and physical structure of membranes, membrane transport and electrical phenomena, action potentials, muscle contraction, energy transduction, nerve impulse conduction and synaptic transmission.

Neuroscience I, NEU 661 (3 credits). Survey of neural control mechanisms underlying behavior. Organization and synaptic connections of specific invertebrate, brain and spinal cord control systems using neurohistological, neurophysiological and neuro-pharmacological procedures.

Systemic Physiology PHS 512 (5 credits). Physiology of the mammalian cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, gastrointestinal, endocrine and reproductive systems. Respiratory, renal and gastointestinal lectures and laboratories are taught by program faculty, clinical correlations by medical faculty. A special feature of this course is the final two week Endocrine Module taught by a multidisciplinary team of basic scientists and clinicians, which includes lectures, clinical correlations, and conferences in which small groups of students discuss and interpret data from the current literature relevant to the understanding and treatment of endocrine and reproductive disorders.

Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences I IBS 601 (5 credits). Protein structure, enzymology, nucleic acid chemistry, genome structure and regulation, recombinant DNA methodologies, genetics, transport across biological membranes and membrane electrical potential.

Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences II IBS 602 (4 credits) Synaptic transmission, cell signalling, cytoskeleton, cell-cell interactions, cell cycle and introduction to immunology.

Membrane Physiology and Biophysics PHS 641 (2 credits). Chemical and physical structure of membranes; model systems; permeability and transport; membrane potential; ionic channels; excitability in nerve and muscle; ionophores; active transport; membrane receptors. Identical with MCP 641.

Membrane Physiology and Biophysics II PHS 642 (2 credits). Osmosis and cell volume; tracer analysis of permeability and compartmentation; theory of channels and carriers; cable properties; Hodgkin-Huxley formalism; Na, K and Ca ion channels; regulation of cellular Na, Ca activities; single-channel analysis; chemical synapses; membrane receptors; cell junctions; excitation and E-C coupling in muscle. Identical with MCP 642.

Research Ethics PHS 680 (0 credits). The NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts stipulates that Institutions receiving support for National Research Service Award Training Grants are required to develop a program in the principles of Scientific Integrity. This program should be an integral part of the proposed training effort. The University of Miami School of Medicine has chosen to respond to this requirement with this course. This course must be taken during the first semester in the Program. This is a six-hour course and will be given in two sessions of three hours each. Prerequisite: Permission of the graduate advisor or program director.

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Elective Courses

Cell Biology CBA 651 (3 credits). Structure, function, and biogenesis of cellular organelles and the cytoskeleton, including their regulation and dynamic interactions.

Developmental Biology PHS 652 (3 credits). Continuation of CBA 651. Early developmental events, including fertilization, changes in transcriptional and translational activity, cleavage and gastrulation, nuclear-cytoplasmic interactions, and intercellular recognition. These events are treated at both the molecular and cellular levels, including changes in gene expression.

Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology MCP 652 (3 credits). Recent advances in the molecular biology of cellular activation by hormones and neurotransmitters. Hormone-regulated signal transduction mechanisms and the manner in which they interact to control cellular responses as they pertain to the pharmacology of drug and hormone action.

Developmental Neurobiology PHS 663 (3 credits). Development of the nervous system in all its aspects: origins of neurons and glia; nerve cell differentiation; cellular interactions during neurogenesis; formation of synaptic connections and neuronal circuits; development of nervous functions and ontogeny of behavior; mechanisms of repair and reorganization in the nervous systems; and theories of neuronal plasticity.

Nerve and Synapse PHS 669 (2 credits). An advanced seminar course in the basic mechanisms underlying the propagated nerve impulse and synaptic transmission, including second messengers, neuromodulation, memory mechanisms, and integrative mechanisms underlying behavior.

Neuroanatomy CBA 505 (3 credits). Introduction to the major structures and pathways of the human central nervous system. The student dissects a whole brain and examines transverse sections of the brain stem and spinal cord.

Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology CBA 632 (2 credits). The expression of neuronal phenotypes at the molecular and cellular level. The molecular organization and composition of synapses; the biosynthesis and regulation of synaptic components; axoplasmic transport and the targeting of neuronal membrane proteins; and the biochemistry of neurotransmitter synthesis, termination, and regulation. Background in cell biology, biochemistry, and/or molecular biology.

Neuropharmacology PHS 668 (3 credits). An intensive seminar course for advanced students covering the mechanism of action of drugs on basic neural processes, including action potentials, neurotransmission (storage, release, reception and metabolism of transmitters), and central nervous activity, taught jointly by staff members of Pharmacology and Physiology/Biophysics.

Pharmacology and Therapeutics MCP 605 (6 credits). Mechanisms underlying the therapeutical and pharmacodynamic properties of pharmacological agents. Emphasis will be placed on cellular and molecular aspects and the quantitative factors governing equilibration within multicompartment systems and drug control of nervous and muscular function in relation to therapeutic action.

Proteins and Enzymes BMB 507 (2 credits). Structure, function and action of enzymes and other proteins. An exposition is given of the kinetics, specificities, mechanisms, and active centers of enzymes, concentrating on well- studied examples. An analysis of structure and function based primarily on chemical techniques is correlated with data obtained by physical methods. The genetic implications of many studies are critically appraised. The modification of function resulting from interacting of protein subunits is discussed.

Multiple Regression and Multivariate Statistics Psych 632 (3 credits). Techniques for the analysis of multiple quantitative measurements including multiple regression, multivariate analysis of variance, discriminant analysis and canonical correlation. Computer application of these techniques to the behavioral sciences.

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